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Shou Wu Chih: The Chinese Secret to Healthy Hair?

Last week I suddenly had cravings for those little sea weed sheet snacks and decided to head to the Asian grocer for some treats. Normally, I grab my stuff and head out but this time, something prompted me to go over to the customer service section where they keep all of the Asian medicinal herbs and potions. My eyes landed on a bottle filled with dark brew. The name sounded really familiar so I did a quick search on my phone and found out why.

It turns out that this Shou Wu Chih tonic has roots derived from Fo Ti & Shou Wu. I learned of these herbs years ago and their remarkable quality to reverse grey hairs (in Chinese, Shou Wu means "black haired"). Technically, Shou Wu Chih is an herbal "energy drink" which is said to help cleanse the blood and improve overall health. One of the side effects of this cleansing is a return of the hair's natural color.

I've seen Fo Ti in pill form at my local vitamin store in the hair supplement section but I prefer to receive my nutrition via liquid for optimal absorption. My morning smoothies have done wonders for my hair, skin, nails because the nutritious liquid doesn't have to go through the normal digestion process as ingested solids. I read several accounts online of folks who used this tonic. Some rave about the reduction in grey hairs, others say that they've seen overall appearance of healthier hair and an increase in regrowth. Others tout the benefits of increased mood levels. Then there are those who said they didn't experience any changes.

The instructions say to mix with hot water or tea so I decided to add a little to my bamboo tea. The tonic has a strong scent that reminds me of those little vials of ginko biloba. The flavor diluted pretty well and it gave my bamboo tea a bit of zing! I try this out for a while and see if I notice any difference to my mood and energy. Hopefully that stumbled upon some ancient Chinese secret that will keep my hair eternally youthful.